How the time has past and my back is on the mend. I want to thank all my wonderful friends here who have sent healing thoughts and patiently waited for my return. I have missed all of you. I still have to restrict my time here on the computer or the pain will return at night just when I am trying to sleep. I have now managed a few nights without discomfort or medication. But my days are filled again with catching up on over 2 weeks of lost time in getting my work done here.
I went way over board this Christmas. Decoration to the hilt, baking and putting on a party. I over lifted, squatted, stretched, spent hours at the kitchen sink and ran up and down the stairs far to many times for my body which is out of shape from to much time sitting at the computer. My body finally had to tell me, that’s it, stop all movement and no sitting at the computer. So I listened and really relaxed for the 1st time in a long time after seeing the doctor and being told no lifting.
What a wonderful feeling to just let go of all the work and take it slow. The world did not end…. I am now restricted to any lifting till I get a CT scan which here in Canada may take 3 months. I am learning to ask for help from hubby and he has been great. Since I do feel better I tend to do a few too many things already.
The Party was a great success and everyone enjoyed the food, Christmas baking, but most of all they always love the decorations.
There came many quiet times as we spent the rest of Christmas and New Years at home alone.
I took this series of photos from my deck with my zoom on my little camera, when hubby was in the field checking on some wildlife action going on there.
I have always wanted to do the black and white effect. Well I got a bit carried away in playing around with this set of photos.
I am really happy with the results and will frame these, I think they will go well on the log house walls. Thank you all my photography friends for displaying your work so that I am inspired to try new things.
With Christmas over and the decorations all taken down it was time to start packing to head south for the winter.
My spare room is the dump station where everything that is being packed gets moved to. As we bought a house down there last year, I have a lot more stuff to take.
Then there are those days when the outside beckons to go for a walk. Something I hadn’t done for almost 2 weeks. Unfortunately I was confined to only the ploughed driveway. Snowshoeing and cross country skiing were out of the question with my back.
All the little jobs that now had to get done. The last of my tomatoes from the greenhouse. There were still some red ones and some green ones left. I also had 5 gallons of rhubarb wine I made that had to be bottle. When combining 2 freezers into one, there were bags of fruit and berries found.
I dump blueberry’s, red currants and rhubarb in on big jelly making container and made what I call a very berry mix jam. Hubby is pitting all these frozen sour cherries that I will can and make more jam.
A bald eagle was spotted one morning in our field a very rare sight at our place. Seems something was dead in the field next to the creek. That’s what hubby had gone down to check. He found the remnants of a coyote. We’d had 2 hunting in our field for 2 days prior. Normally we only see one at a time. So I do believe they needed thinning. What killed it we have no idea.
But soon their were tracks all around where the dead coyote was. This track is a bobcat or lynx.
As you can see by all the tracks the birds and many other animals feasted on the dead coyote.
These photo really capture why I love it so much here in the winter.
We have a very long driveway that has to be kept ploughed. Going up this hill can sometime be very tricky. But let me tell you it is also one of the best sledding down it. Couldn’t do that this year as well. ) :
It truly has been beautiful the amount of winter we were able to enjoy here. This is the other end of our driveway were it heads out to the main road.
Santa was extra good to us this Christmas. We got a newer truck to replace our old 87 Ford Ranger, it’s still running, but it was time for a little extra comfort. Santa thought a nice 2007 Toyota 4 door Tacoma TRD would be just right for our lifestyle. Thanks Santa I love it and can’t wait to drive south with more comfort and room.
Ha.. Bet you thought we were down south in this photo. Look in the window and you will see our field covered in snow reflected in the window. Just after Christmas it hit +4c after a week of –20c. That’s sun tanning weather for us here at the ranch on a sunny day on our deck.
So that ends life here at the ranch for this winter. We are heading south in less the a week. I will only have internet access thru the library while down at the Salton Sea in California. This year I remembered to bring the inverter so I can plug into my car while parked at the library so will have a bit more time on my laptop to get things done while there. I am presently using a friends huge old monitor as the screen went on my laptop. Once down south I will have to buy a small fIat screen or maybe a new computer. I have some older blogs from spaces pre scheduled to post that will be showing up on both my blogs about Salton Sea and life down there. I hope to get some new ones out as well. It is so time to end this as my neck is very sore from all the typing and it is now 2am.
I hope to get by and see as many of you as I can before we head south.
Wishing everyone
a
Good Morning… Good Afternoon… Good Night…
What ever it is to you.
Photo and Words
by
Here I Am/Carrie
